Ice guard for drinking glasses

ABSTRACT

This invention pertains to an ice guard particularly adapted to be placed within a drinking glass to hold solid or semisolid material within the glass while the glass is tilted for drinking from said glass. The guard is preferably a plastic unit molded so as to incorporate and provide an integral tongue member connected to the guard body by a U-shaped portion. This U-shaped portion acts as a spring and moves the tongue into engagement with and retains the tongue in engagement with the interior of the glass. The installed guard is perforated and provides a screen which prevents the larger particles of ice and like material from passing from the glass while the fluid is permitted to pass by and around the screen and from the glass.

United States Patent Biro [76] Inventor: F. Joseph Biro, 209 Comly Rd,Apt.

K-12, Lincoln Park, NJ. 07035 [22] Filed: June 27, 1972 [21] Appl. No.:266,657

[52] US. Cl 210/469, 210/474, 210/478, D7/47 [51] Int. Cl Bold 35/28[58] Field of Search 210/469, 477, 478; D7/47 [56] References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS 2,753,050 7/1956 Langston 210/469 2,690,064 9/1954Rupe 210/469 1:1 1] 1:1 [:1 E1 El El [:1 b 1:] 1:1 1:] 1:1 1:1 1 U 1:]1:1 1:1 1:] 1 13121131355:

[1113131351 El 1:] U [:l 1:] 1:1 I [:1 E] 1:] I] El 1:1 I BUDDIES} 2O1:1 1:] l3 [:1 1:1

ICE GUARD FOR DRINKING GLASSES Primary Examiner-Frank A. Spear, Jr.Assistant Examiner-F. F. Calvetti Attomey-Ralph R. Roberts ABSTRACT Thisinvention pertains to an ice guard particularly adapted to be placedwithin a drinking glass to hold solid or semisolid material within theglass while the glass is tilted for drinking from said glass. The guardis preferably a plastic unit molded so as to incorporate and provide anintegral tongue member connected to the guard body by a U-shapedportion. This U-shaped portion acts as a spring and moves the tongueinto engagement with and retains the tongue in engagement with theinterior of the glass. The installed guard is perforated and provides ascreen which prevents the larger particles of ice and like material frompassing from the glass while the fluid is permitted to pass by andaround the screen and from the glass.

8 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures DUDE] JUUUU l'IlllllIllIllQl [11:11:11]:SUEDE] DSC11113 UUEIEJEJ IIIEJUEHIJF ICE GUARD FOR DRINKING GLASSESBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention With reference tothe classification of art as established in the United States PatentOffice this invention pertains to the general class of LiquidPurification or Separation and more particularly to the subclass of afilter of the portable receptacle draining type and more particularly tothe subclass thereunder further identified as an inserted holder."

2. Description of the Prior Art Screen or guard protectors for drinkingvessels are, of course, well known and many attempts have been made toprovide such guards for ready attachment to drinking glasses and thelike to prevent the flow of ice cubes to and against the mouth or facesof the user as he or she drinks from the glass. In general most of theseguard protectors are designed so as to grip an edge of the glass towhich they are attached. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,744,631 toTOOMBS the guard is attached to a drinking glass by a U-shaped clipwhich engages the upper end or edge of the glass to retain the guarddeep within the top of the glass. However, in this patent as well as theice guard devices shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,357,063 to SWING as issued onAug. 29, 1944; in U.S. Pat. No. 2,753,049 to GAINES as issued on July 3,1956 and Pat. No. 3,150,084 to RODGES as issued on Sept. 22, 1964, theguards shown all mount on the edge of the glass and require that theuser of the glass, to avoid the guard, orient the glass before drinkingtherefrom. These guards have been less than satisfactory since units ofthis style have not appeared on the market in any quantity and insofaras the inventor has been able to ascertain are not at present availableto the public.

In the present invention a guard of determined diameter has a centraltongue portion formed as a movable member which is attached to aU-shaped center portion which acts as and provides a spring disposed tourge the movable portion outwardly and into an engaged condition withthe sidewall of the glass. Diametrically mounted on the rim portions ofthis guard are four small rubber suction-type cups which, when the guardis mounted, engage the sides of the inner surface of the glass to retainthe guard in this mounted condition. This guard is made as an integralunit which is easily washed and is contemplated as being an inexpensiveunit in that it is of molded plastic with the small rubber engaging cupportions being attached to holes or other means provided on the exteriorof the guard.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention may be summarized at least inpart with reference to its objects.

It is an object of this invention to provide and it does provide aprotector for retaining large portions such as ice cubes within adrinking glass, said protector being ofa simple design and constructionleading toward economical manufacture.

It is another object of this invention to provide, and it does provide,a protector which is easily and removably mounted within the top ofaglass or other drinking vessel and from which the user may drink withoutthe mouth of the user touching the mounted protector.

It is another object of this invention to provide, and it does provide,a drinking glass protector in which the guard portion is disposed withinthe interior of the glass and where there is a spring actuated tongueportion permitting removable installation in a drinking vessel, whichvessel may be one of various sizes.

The guard of this invention is contemplated to be a one-piece moldedplastic member in whose peripheral rim portion there is mounted at leastthree rubber suction cups or buttons disposed to frictionally engage theinterior walls of the glass and retain the guard in a determined mountedposition. The guard is retained in this mounted condition by means of anintegral tongue member which is attached to a biased U-shaped springportion. The body plate portion of the guard may have either rectangularor round holes formed in its midportion which permit the flow of fluidtherethrough. The guard engages the inside of the glass at four pointsproviding an outside passage which permits the fluid to flow by theguard and down the inside of the drinking glass to the user.

In addition to the above summary the following disclosure is detailed toinsure adequacy and aid in understanding of the the invention. Thisdisclosure, however, is not intended to prejudice that purpose of apatent which is to cover each new inventive concept therein no matterhow it may later be disguised by variations in form or additions offurther improvements. For this reason there has been chosen a specificembodiment of the ice guard as adopted for use within a drinking glassand showing a preferred means for providing a spring means for urging amovable tongue into retaining condition. This specific embodiment hasbeen chosen for the purposes of illustration and description as shown inthe accompanying drawing wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 represents a plan view of theice guard of this invention and is shown in a mounted condition in adrinking glass which is depicted in phantom outline;

FIG. 2 represents a side view of the guard of FIG. 1, this view beingtaken on the line 2--2 of FIG. I and looking in the direction of thearrows;

FIG. 3 represents an alternate construction of the guard of FIGS. 1 and2 and shows the U-shaped spring portion formed to extend from theopposite side of the guard or strainer midportion, and

FIG. 4 represents a fragmentary plan view of the midportion of the guardwith the perforations being round rather than square.

In the following description and in the claims various details will beidentified by specific names for convenience, these names, however, areintended to be generic in their application. Corresponding referencecharacters refer to like members throughout the several figures of thedrawing.

The drawing accompanying, and forming part of, this specificationdiscloses certain details of construction for the purpose of explanationof the broader aspects of the invention, but it should be understoodthat structural details may be modified in various respects withoutdeparture from the concept and principles of the invention.

Description of the Guard of FIGS. 1 and 2 Referring now in particular tothe drawing and to FIGS. 1 and 2 as shown, it is to be noted that theguard assembly includes an outer rim member 10 which enclosesapproximately three-quarters of the guard. This outer rim is interruptedto accept a movable tongue member 12. This tongue member is attached toa midportion 14 of the guard by means of a U-shaped spring member 16.This U-shaped portion provides a spring actuation to the tongue portion12 of the guard. The outer rim portion 18 of the tongue 12 has mountedtherein a pair of rubber cups 20 a and b. These cups have stem portionswhich are mounted in holes or slots formed in this rim. These littlecups are shown as substantially in full size as is also the guard asdepicted in FIGS. 1 and 2. Two other cups c and d which are like theresilient cups in rim 18 are mounted substantially diametricallyopposite the cups 20 in the tongue portion 12. As seen in FIG. 1, thedepicted openings in the guard or separator are rectangular in shape.These openings are identified as 26, and may be of any regular size asdetermined by the desired aesthetic design of the strainer.

Alternate Spring Design as Seen in FIG. 3

It is to be noted that the guard of FIGS. 1 and 2 has U-shaped springportion 16 formed to extend upwardly from the midportion 14 while rimportions 10 and 18 extend downwardly from this midportion.

In FIG. 3 a spring 116 is formed to extend from the bottom or oppositeside of the midportion 14. This guard of FIG. 3, in the installedcondition within the inside of the glass, has the midportion disposedtoward the bottom of the glass rather than toward the top of the glass.

Alternate Opening in the Midportion.

As Seen in FIG. 4

A midportion member 114 as seen in FIG. 4 is depicted as having circularopenings 126 rather than the rectangular openings 26 as seen in FIG. 1.As the form or shape of the openings are merely a matter of decision bythe manufacturer or purchaser no importance is made as to theirconfiguration. The passageways may be made rectangular, oblong, squareor any other design which will provide a desired aesthetic appearance.Of course, combinations of one or more configurations may be provided tospell out words, letters or the like.

Use and Operation of the Strainer As seen in FIG. 1 a drinking glass 50has a generally round open top within which the guard is disposed to bemounted. T0 mount the guard within the glass after the glass has beenfilled with liquid, ice cubes and the like, it is only necessary thatthe U-shaped spring portion 16 (or 116) be gripped and squeezed to causethe tongue portion 12 to be moved inwardly or leftwardly toward the mainbody portion 14 so that the guard may be pushed into the open top of theglass a determined distance. After the guard has been pushed into thisglass to the desired depth the spring portion 16 (or I16) is released toallow the cups 20 to engage the inner sides of the glass to retain theguard in the desired position prior to and during drinking from theglass. To remove the guard it is only necessary to grip and squeeze theupwardly extending spring portion 16 (or 116) to cause the tongue memberto be moved toward the center portion of the guard and lift the releasedguard from the inside of the glass. The glass may be rinsed, refilledand the like after which the guard may be reinstated.

The design of the openings whether 26 or 126, or other configurations ismerely a matter of selection and usually corresponds to the general sizeof the guard. It is contemplated that the guard may be made in two orthree sizes to accommodate the present sizes of glasses which aregenerally used. The guard is contemplated, by means of its springaction, to accommodate variations in a size range of approximately onehalf inch in diameter. The guard is contemplated to be a molded plasticunit except for the little rubber cup portions 20 which may be insertedinto holes molded into the rim or may be pushed into slots formed in therim. These cups have a high coefficient of friction so as to retain theguard in the installed position and withstand the bumping caused by theforward propulsive action of an ice cube as it is carried by the flow offluid toward and into the mouth of the user.

The guard of this invention is disposed to be completely retained withinthe glass so that the guard does no obstruct the use of the glass at anyof its lip portion and eliminates possible disease transmission from oneuser to .the lips of another user. The guard after removal from theglass is readily washed by means of hot water, soapy water and the like,the material contemplated for use in the guard being resistant to hotwater to the extent necessary to permit ready washing and sterilizing ofthe guard in the usual manner of washing and/0r sterilizing dishes andglasses.

Terms such as left, right, up, down, bottom," top," front," back, in,out, and the like are applicable to the embodiments shown and describedin conjunction with the drawing. These terms are merely for the purposesof description and do not necessarily apply to the position in which theice guard may be constructed or used.

While a particular embodiment of the ice guard and an alternateembodiment has been shown and described it is to be understood theinvention is not limited thereto and protection is sought to thebroadest extent the prior art allows.

What is claimed is:

1. A guard adapted for mounting within the open top of a drinking glassabsent engagement of and over the rim of the glass and when mountedtherein to restrain within the glass all solid, semisolid and likematerials larger than a predetermined size when and while the glass istilted as for drinking to permit the fluid to pass through and aroundthe guard, said guard including:

a. a screen-like guard member substantially circular in configurationexcept for a cutout portion formed in one side thereof in which ismovably mounted;

b. a tongue member substantially coplaner with the guard member, saidtongue member movable toward and from the central portion of said guardmember and connected to the guard member by;

c. a spring means disposed to urge the tongue member outwardly from thecenter of the guard member. and

d. engaging means provided on the rim portion and also on the outerportion of the tongue with said engaging means having a high coefficientof friction and with the engaging means disposed to contact the insidesurface of a glass and retain the mounted guard in the glass at aselected position near the open top thereof when the tongue is urgedoutwardly by the released spring.

6 2. A guard as in claim 1 in which the guard and of molded rubber.tongue are integrally molded of plastic, the tongue con- 5. A guard asin claim 3 in which the suction cups are nected to the guard member bythe spring means which arranged on the rim of the guard and tongue toprovide is a U-shaped spring which is grasped and squeezed to a fourpoint engaging condition. move the tongue from its normal expandedcondition 5 6. A guard as in claim 1 in which the central portion whichis the normal engaging condition. of the guard member and the coplanarportion of the 3. A guard as in claim 2 in which the guard and tonguehave through perforations. tongue have their exterior rim portionprovided with 7. A guard as in claim 6 in which the perforations arecutouts and the like in which are mounted the engaging of a circularconfiguration. means which are small suction cups of resilient mate- 108. A guard as in claim 6 in which the perforations are rial. of arectangular configuration.

4. A guard as in claim 3 in which the suction cups are

1. A guard adapted for mounting within the open top of a drinking glassabsent engagement of and over the rim of the glass and when mountedtherein to restrain within the glass all solid, semisolid and likematerials larger than a predetermined size when and while the glass istilted as for drinking to permit the fluid to pass through and aroundthe guard, said guard including: a. a screen-like guard membersubstantially circular in configuration except for a cutout portionformed in one side thereof in which is movably mounted; b. a tonguemember substantially coplaner with the guard member, said tongue membermovable toward and from the central portion of said guard member andconnected to the guard member by; c. a spring means disposed to urge thetongue member outwardly from the center of the guard member, and d.engaging means provided on the rim portion and also on the outer portionof the tongue with said engaging means having a high coefficient offriction and with the engaging means disposed to contact the insidesurface of a glass and retain the mounted guard in the glass at aselected position near the open top thereof when the tongue is urgedoutwardly by the released spring.
 2. A guard as in claim 1 in which theguard and tongue are integrally molded of plastic, the tongue connectedto the guard member by the spring means which is a U-shaped spring whichis grasped and squeezed to move the tongue from its normal expandedcondition which is the normal engaging condition.
 3. A guard as in claim2 in which the guard and tongue have their exterior rim portion providedwith cutouts and the like in which are mounted the engaging means whichare small suction cups of resilient material.
 4. A guard as in claim 3in which the suction cups are of molded rubber.
 5. A guard as in claim 3in which the suction cups are arranged on the rim of the guard andtongue to provide a four point engaging condition.
 6. A guard as inclaim 1 in which the central portion of the guard member and thecoplanar portion of the tongue have through perforations.
 7. A guard asin claim 6 in which the perforations are of a circular configuration. 8.A guard as in claim 6 in which the perforations are of a rectangularconfiguration.